BANGKOK, Mar 9 (IPS) - Press freedom in the world's newest nation, East
Timor, is under attack with a major daily newspaper being harassed by the
government after it reported on famine deaths in the island.

Early this month, 'Suara Timor Lorosae', or 'STL', reported that a food
crisis has affected thousands of East Timorese in the Los Palos, Suai,
Ainaro and Manufahi districts. The daily said that in one village alone in
Ainaro, at least 50 people have died from hunger.

While food shortages are not uncommon for the East Timorese especially
during drought periods, reports this year have raised concerns that the
government of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri is neglecting remote villages
in the island.

What irks Alkatiri is that the daily's report comes at a time when a
number of voices have been raised to draw attention to his poor
governance.

The bishop of Dili, Dom Alberto Ricardo da Silva, recently said that
the country was suffering from corruption and a lack of openness and the
East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Carlos Ximenes Belo has publicly
expressed his concern about the famine problem.

Last week, the premier reacted by ordering all government departments
to boycott 'STL'. He also withdrew all government advertising from the
daily and banned all its journalists from attending official press
conferences.

Alkatiri also incited people to stop buying the paper. Portuguese news
agency 'Lusa' reported him as justifying the boycott by saying, ''We have
the right to maintain relations with the serious and independent press but
not with propagandists who have no objectivity.''

On Wednesday, a petition was signed by over 50 East Timorese
journalists indicating the prime minister had violated constitutional
provisions that guaranteed press freedom.

''We are disappointed with the prime minister's actions. What he's
doing to 'STL' is against the constitution,'' local journalist Jose
Antonio Belo told IPS in a phone interview.

''We have to be united and not compromise in telling the truth... we
are offering our solidarity to one another in these difficult times,''
added Belo.

For 25 years, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia. The Timorese in a
United Nations- sponsored referendum opted for independence in late August
1999 and East Timor became independent in May 2002, after a two-year
interim administration led by the United Nations.

But the newly independent East Timor is one of the poorest countries in
the world. Basic income, literacy and health are among the world's lowest.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, with a total
population of more than 800,000, East Timor has a per capita annual income
of only 478 U.S. dollars.

'STL's' reports have also been verified by non-governmental
organisations.

Manuela Pereira, an activist with Fokupers, the East Timorese Women's
Communication Forum, based in Dili, said starvation is a burning issue now
in the country.

Recently she visited Suai district, about 300 kilometers southeast of
the capital Dili and said she witnessed people there suffering from
hunger.

''In Suai, people are so desperate for food that they are forced to
sell their houses at bargain prices - as low as 120 dollars -- to be able
to buy rice,'' revealed Pereira.

Alkatiri's harassment of 'STL' has also been brought to the attention
of the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), which in a letter to
the prime minister said: ''The boycott and threats against privately-owned
publications are methods that are unworthy of a democratic government.''

''We urge you to put an end to all the restrictions imposed on Suara
Timor Lorosae'', added the worldwide press freedom organisation.

Meanwhile the Bangkok-based South-east Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
reported that Prime Minister Alkatiri is also trying to have the newspaper
evicted from its offices.

SEAPA in a statement said East Timor's Land and Property Department had
ordered 'STL' to leave its present premises in Dili within 60 days.

President of the Timor Lorosae Journalists' Association (TLJA),
Virgilio da Silva Guterres, told SEAPA that the TLJA would investigate the
matter to see if the government's eviction order was a manoeuvre to
curtail press freedom in the country.

Alkatiri's disdain towards the media became a cause of concern last May
when he ordered the expulsion of Australian freelance journalist Julian
King.

Police arrested the freelance journalist on May 6 close to his home in
the capital. He was held for two days in the central police station and
the authorities said they had found ammunitions at his house.

During a search they seized files, including a U.N. report on
corruption in East Timor. The journalist was at first told his residency
papers were not in order and was then threatened with legal action for
''possessing weapons'' and ''subversion''.

Prime Minister Alkatiri made several public statements against the
journalist. ''He is abusing our tolerance, he is not a journalist and he
has his own agenda to subvert state institutions,'' he said. He also
accused King of taking part in torching his home during a riot in December
2002.

But in June, a court in Dili cleared him of charges brought by the
police. The appeal court had ordered the return of King's passport,
refused to remand him in custody and ruled that the police did not have
sufficient evidence against him.

However, soon after the court's decision, he was deported to Australia
on the orders of the interior ministry.

''The only established wrong committed by King was that he upset the
government of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri,'' said RSF. ''This contempt
for the courts did nothing to enhance the standing of the country's first
democratic government.''

Added RSF: ''It is a real disappointment for our organisation to see
the prime minister of a country - held up for several years as a model in
Asia of respect for press freedom - accusing a foreign journalist of
rioting and destabilisation.'' (END/2005)

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